Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to dump-type vehicles in genera] and, in
particular, to a stone slinger option for such a vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INYENIION
There are various vehicles which are used to carry loads, one of which
5 is the dump truck. A dump truck normally carries particulate material such as
gravel, soil or grain. The vehicle has a dump body which involves a generally
rectangular box pivotally connected to the vehicle chassis or frame. Means, such
as hydraulic cylinder and piston units, are provided to raise the forward end of
the box so that the contents thereof will slide to the rear to exit the box through
10 the tailgate. The tailgate extends across the box and is typically hinged to the
box along an a~is that extends along the top edge of the tailgate. The tailgate
can be locked to the box to prevent inadvertent opening and it can also include
a smaller opening with its own manually openable gate to direct the contents of
the box in a path narrower than the full width of the tailgate. The smaller
15 opening is used when it is desired to feed the box contents to a chute or a
conveyor for movement along a particular path. A dump box can be provided
on a self-propelled vehicle, creating a dump truck, or it can be provided on a
towed vehicle such as a trailer or a rail car.
One particular task commonly performed is the carrying of crushed
2û stone or gravel to a construction site. When residential housing is being
constructed it is normal to provide a base of gravel within the boundaries of the
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foundation before the basement floor is poured. Ii~ a multi-unit housing tract
there are many foundations under construction at the same time and very often
a dump truck is unable to back right up to the foundation to deposit its load
within the foundation. Furthermore, gravel is normally placed adjacent the outer
S wall of the i~oundation over and around the weeping tile of the ~ground water
collection system. Again, the dump truclk is often prevented from dumping its
load exactly where it is needed. In such circumstances a "stone slinger" truck is
used to deliver the gravel to the dump site.
A stone slinger has a hopper-like body that carries the gravel and
10 includes a conveyor therebelow that receives the gravel from the hopper body
at a position remote from the dump site and conveys it to the dump site itself
within or adjacent the foundations walls. It can be moved as desired to place
gravel at different spots so that the gravel can be spread more evenly by a gang
of workmen. This way of distributing gravel at the construction site is quite
15 inefficient since workmen must monitor the stone slinger, moving the vehicle as
desired relative to the foundation. The workmen must also spread the gravel
after it has been dumped and they must also move the stone slinger ~rom one
foundation to another after dumping is complete. A stone slinger vehicle is very
specialized and very expensive ~o own, operate or rent.
SIJM~RY OF ~ INVEN~ON
The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art as
described by providing a stone s]inger directly connected to a common dump
truck so that it is always available whenever it is clesired to dump gravel or other
particulate material at a position remote from the truck. The stone slinger
option involves a frame supporting an endless conveyor belt, a drive for the
conveyor belt, and a pivot mechanism that allows the frame to move between
a stowed position adjacent the vehicle frame and a working position extending
S away from the dump body. The conveyor frame can be directed straight
rearwardly of the vehicle or it can be directed at an angle relative to the vehicle
as convenient. When ~he dump box is raised the smaller opening in the tailgate
is used to direct the contents onto the conveyor ~or transport to the dump site
itself. Additionally, the conveyor frame can be connected to the vehicle frame
10 so that the angle of elevation thereof is adjustable, in the event that there are
differences in elevation between the dump truck and the dump site.
The stone slinger may be built in to the vehicle at the factory or it may
be added to any dump vehicle at a later date. Preferably the dump box will be
raised relative to its normal position so as to provide enough room therebelow
15 for the stone slinger frame. The stone slinger option is not restricted to self-
propelled dump trucks per se. It can be used with towed dump trailers, dump-
type rail cars, or gravity feed type rail cars used to carry grain or coal. All that
is required is power to drive the conveyor belt as it receives the contents of the
vehicle so that those contents can be moved to the desired dump site. When
20 the stone slinger is used with a dump truck or a dump trailer the dump box can
be provided with flow directing walls which cause the contents to flow smoothly
towards the smaller opening in the tailgate. Such walls need not be the full
height of the dump bo~, or they can be pivotable or removable, so that normal
operation of the dump vehicle will not be impaired. During such operation the
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stone slinger will remain in its stowed condition unclerneath the dump box and
the full tailgate will be opened for rapid discharge of the box contents.
By providing a stone slinger directly on a dump vehicle the task of
filling foundations becomes almost a one-man job, since an entire work crew and
5 another specialized vehicle is no longer required. The vehicle operator can
con~rol the path that the gravel takes from the vehicle to the dump site and a
fleet of dump trucks can readily complete the provision of gave] to an entire
construction site in much less time than at present. The savings to the
contractor will be great and will more than justify the cost of providing a fleet
10 of trucks with their own stone slingers.
Generally speaking therefore the present invention may be considered
as providing a stone slinger attachment ~or a vehicle having a wheeled, elongated
chassis, a dump body pivotally connected to the chassis, means for pivotally
moving the dump body between a lowered travel position and an elevated dump
15 position, and movable gate means in the dump body, the attachment means
comprising: swing arm means for pivotal connection at one end thereof to the
chassis; elongated frame means pivotally connected at one end thereof to the
other end of the swing arm means; and means for independently moving the
swing arm means and the frame means about respective pivot axes to move the
20 frame means from or to a stowed position adjacent the chassis to or from a
working position extending away from the vehicle, the frame means carrying
independently operable conveyor means for moving material discharged from
the dump body through the gate means to a desired location remote from the
vehicle adjacent the other end of the frame means.
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BRIEF DE~SCRlPrlON C)F TEIE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a dump truck provided with a stone
slinger, shown in the extended position, in accordance with the invention.
Figure 2 is a rear end view o~ a dump truck provided with a stone
5 slinger, shown in the stowed position.
Figure 3 is an enlarged partial side elevation showing the pivot
mechanism for the clump box.
Figure 4 is a plan view of the dump box.
Figure 5 is a partial plan view of the structure connecting the stone
10 slinger to the frame.
Figure 6 is a perspective view, partially exploded, of the connecting
arm used with the invention.
Figure 7 is another partial plan view, showing the stone slinger
extended.
Figure 8 is a partial side elevation showing the stone slin~ger in its
stowed position.
DES~RlM~ PREFE~ED EMBODIMENT
Figure 1 illustrates a dump truck 10 provided with the stone slinger
option 12 of the present invention. The truck 10 inclucles a chassis or frame
20 14 supporting a cab 16 for the motor and the driver, a pair of forward steering
wheels 18 and a tandem set of rear drive wheels 20. A rectangular dump box
22 is pivotally connected at the rear thereof, as at 24, and an elevating device
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26, such as an hydraulic jack, is provided for elevating the opposite end of the
box 22. All of these components are standard for a dump truck and need not
be described in further detail herein. If onc is dealing with a towed dump
trailer instead of a self-propelled vehicle the major difference would be the
S absence of the cab 10, and the drive train. The frame, dump box and elevating
device would still be provided.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 show other details of the dump truck 10, including
the tailgate 28 which closes the rear opening of the dump box 22. The tailgate
28 is normally pivotally attached at the top and can be locked in its closed
lû position by a pneumatic lock (not shown). When the pneumatic lock is
disengaged the tailgate 2B will swing to an open condition as the dump box is
elevated to allow the contents to discharge from the dump box over the full
width thereof. Also shown in those figures are the rearmost cross-member 30
of the frame 14, the longitudinal rails 32 of the frame 14, and the rails 34
15 extending along the bottom of the box 22.
In order to add the slinger option 12 to a standard dump truck it is
desirable to effect certain modifications to the dump truck to improve ease of
assembly and efficiency of the modified vehicle. One such modi~ication involves
raising the entire dump box by about six inches. After removing the box 22
20 from a standard dump truck a pair of auxiliary frame rails 36 is welded to the
frame rails 32 as best seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3. At the rear end each rail 36
includes a raised portion 38 which mates with a standard pivot lug 40 on the
dump box 22, a pivot pin or shaft 42 extending therethrough to efEect the pivot
connection of the box 22 to the vehicle frame. When the box is in its lowered
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condition reach box rail 34 will rest on an auxiliary rail 36 rather than a frame
rail 34.
The tailgate 28 should also be modified to create a narrow central
opening 44 which will allow a narrow stream of particulate material to exit the
5 dump box onto the slinger. The opening 44 is closed by a reciprocable gate 46
guided by side guides 48 and powered by a hydraulic cy]inder and piston
assembly 50. Of course, any type of gate could be used to open or close the
opening 44, the illustrated mechanism being but one example.
Internally, as seen in Figure 4, the box 22 may have a pair of flow
10 directing walls 52 removably or pivotally attached to the box side and end walls
by brackets 54. When the dump truck is not being used as a stone slinger the
walls 52 would be removed or pivoted to one side so that the full width of the
box is available for discharge of the contents thereof. With the walls 52 in
place, the contents of the box ~vill be funnelled towards the s)pening 44 for
15 discharge therethrough when the gate 46 is open.
The stone slinger option of the present invention will now be described
with particular reference to Figures 1, 2 and 5 to 8. This option involves an
elongated truss-like frame 58 having a length about the same as the length of
the box 22. The frame 58 includes end drums 60,62 and intervening spaced
20 apart idler rollers 64 extending across the upper and lower levels of the frame.
An endless conveyor belt 66 extends around the end drums 60962 and is
supported along the frame 58 by the idler rollers 64. Side guides 68 ~Figure 2)
extend along the frame 58 on each side of the upper run of the belt 66 so as
to define a channel for the particulate material to be carried by the belt 66.
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The drum 62 is connected to a pulley 70 (Figure 8) which in hlrn is
connected via drive belt 72 to an hydraulic or electric motor 74 contained in the
frame 58. The motor 74 will impart appropriate drive to the belt 66 to move
the upper run thereof in a direction away from the dump box. The drive for
S the belt 66 is conventional and need not be described in -further detail. Any
suitable drive system can be used.
At one end of the rearmost cross-member 30 there is pivotally
connected thereto a swing arm 76 having a height similar to that of the cross-
member 30 and a length sufficient to position the slinger frame 58 adjacent the
10 vehicle frame 14. 1'he pivot or hinge connection 78 is conventional and will
permit pivotal movement of the arm 76 through at least gO and perhaps up to
about 135. A lug 80 on the arm 76 is connected to the rod 82 of an hydraulic
cylinder 84 which in turn is connected to the cross-member 30 to effect pivotal
movement of the swing arm 76.
At its free end the swing arm 76 carries a vertically extending hollow
bushing 86, the lower end of the which extends below the bot$om edge of the
swing arm 76. The bushing 86 bearingly receives a shaft 88 (Figure 6), the
upper end of which carries a large diameter (e.g. 19 inches) sprocket 90 and a
U-shaped yoke 92. The near end of the frame 58 is pivotally connected to the
20 yoke 92 by the pivot pin 94 which also may act as the shaft for the belt drum
60 if the drum 6û is positioned within the yoke as in Figure 1. The other views
show the drum mounted rearwardly of the yoke 92. The frame 58 has limited
vertical pivotal movement capabilities, such movement being provided by a
hydraulic cylinder assembly 96 one end of which is connected to the lower
extension of the bushing 86 and the other end of which is connected to the
frame 58 along the length thereof from the yoke 92.
The swing arm 76 carries a motor 98 which may be hydraulic or
electric. The drive shaft of the rnotor carries a small diameter (e.g. 2 inch)
5 sprocket 100 which connects via chain 102 to an idler sprocket 104 mounted to
one end of a vertical idler shaft 106. The shaft 106 is bearingly mounted on
the swing arm 76 and carries another idler sprocket 108 at the upper end
thereof. The sprocket 104 is preferably about eight inches in diameter while the
sprocket 108 is preferably about two inches in diameter. Sprocket 108 is
10 connected to the sprocket 90 by a chain 110.
The operation of the present invention, once the stone slinger 12 has
been installed on the vehicle is as follows. It will be assumed that the slinger
12 is initially in its stowed position as shown in Figures 2, 5 and 8.
The dump truck 10, loaded with crushed gravel or other particulate
15 material is backed into pOSitiOll in close proximity to a dump site, such as
adjacent the foundation of a newly constructed house. The operator will first
of all operate suitable hydràulic controls, not shown, to actuate the hydraulic
cylinder assembly 84 which will cause the swing arm 76 to rotate about the pivot
connection 78, in turn causing the frame 58 to start to swing away from its
20 stowed position adjacent the vehicle frame 14. During this swinging operation
the motor 98 may be actuated so as to cause the frame 58, via the sprocXets
100, 104, 108 and 90 and the chains 102, 110, to rotate on its shaft 88 relative
to the swing arrn 76. Eventually, the swing arm 76 and the frame 58 will take
up the opposition shown in Figures 1 and 7 with the frame 58 extending
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rearwardly from the dump box 22 in a line with the dump site and with the belt
66 positioned below the opening 44 in the tailgate 28. The dump box may then
be elevated and the gate 46 raised to a]low particulate material to discharge
through the opening 44 at a controlled rate onto the belt 66. The belt drive
5 motor 74 is actuated so that the be]t 66 will carry the particulate material from
the material receiving end adjacent the dump box 22 to the discharge end
adjacent the dump site. If the discharge end needs to be raised or lowered for
more accurate deposition of the material such may be accomplished by operating
the hydraulic cylinder assembly 96.
The frame 58 can be rotated relative to the swing arm 76 during the
dumping operation, preferably slowly, by operating the motor 98. In this way
a line, rather than a pile, of material will be created at the dump site.
Once the truck is empty, or the desired amount of material has been
deposited at the dump site, the controls are operated to rotate the frame 58
15 relative to the swing arm 76 and to swing the swing arm 76 relative to the cross-
member 30 so as to move the frame 58 back to its stowed position adjacent the
frame 14. The truck can then go on to another dump site or ~ack to the gravel
pit for another load. Also, if desired7 it can be used as a conventional durnp
truck at any time, with the frame 58 stowed, the flow directors 52 removed or
20 pivoted to one side, and the full tailgate 28 being opened for full discharge as
required.
It is readily seen that the present invention greatly increases the
versati]ity of a standard dump truck and greatly increases the efficiency of the
"stone slinging" operation at a construction site. Fewer people are required to
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perform the slinging function and the cost of renting or purchasing dedicated
stone slinging equipment is avoided.
The preferred form of the present invention has been described herein.
It is understood however ~hat many components could be altered by a skilled
S workman without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus the protection
to be afforded this invention is to be determined from the scope of the claims
appended hereto.
